Lincoln claimed extraordinary powers in order to control the chaos of dissent during the Civil War. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus—the provision in the Constitution that protects citizens against arbitrary arrests. By 1863, thousands of civilians had been detained, mostly suspected draft dodgers and deserters and Confederate sympathizers in the Border States and the South. For these actions, Lincoln was denounced as a tyrant by his political foes. He struggled throughout the war to find the appropriate balance between national security and individual rights.
source: American Library Association:http://www.ala.org/programming/lincoln/lincoln-ssn-themes
Abraham Lincoln As Lawyer 1837
(AP Photo )
J. S. Smith & Co. copy of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
(The Library of Congress)